What Is the Next Great Chapter for Caribbean Business?

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t is recognised that the Caribbean is an incredibly diverse region economically. In neighbourhoods and across nations in our region, some communities are still developing, others have been embattled by unemployment, economic stagnation and, of course natural disaster. Conversely, the region is also home to a finance industry that sees many of the world’s wealthiest bank here, and it hosts some of the most expensive real estate in the world.

While the differences from one side of the economy to the other are substantial, across the board it can be recognised that the Caribbean is often an expensive place to live, and can be a difficult place to run a business. This can add to the difficulty of bringing new business to our region, and also retaining it.  Most of all, it can have a real bearing on the ability of people across the Caribbean to start and build new businesses; businesses that, whether built to employ just one person or destined to go global, bring with their growth the promise of greater employment, investment and economic productivity to our region.

If you’re reading this, the odds are good that you’ll know that the ingenuity and the ambition of so many in the Caribbean business community exists with a readiness to further build commerce in our region. So, what challenges exist that embattle this progress? And what can we do about it?

BORDERS AND ECONOMICS

This cost of living issue, as a result of our borders, is complex. When it comes to determining the cost of goods sourced from beyond a nation’s shores, many elements come into play. Does taxation exist on the goods? What are the transport costs? Is there a trade deal between a Caribbean nation and another that may reduce (if not outright eliminate) added costs? The variables here are many but throughout all of these questions is a common source of anguish.

Put simply, the feeling of being subject to such excess costs can deliver a feeling akin to heartbreak for entrepreneurs and local business. A good idea may be in hand, a willingness to see it through for the long haul, and maybe even some early customers lined up. Then the brutal reality of ‘old world economics’ in an economically borderless world is encountered.

It is true that the election of Donald Trump to the White House under a protectionist ‘America First’ banner, and the Brexit vote in the UK have evidenced a desire by many people around the world to turn away from the world, and focus on domestic issues exclusively.

The problem is, that is no longer possible, if it ever was. It’s true the GFC and its aftershocks saw greater pressure placed upon the ideals of globalisation and free trade. And there are some legitimate concerns about unquestioned capital investment the world over.

Nonetheless, for better or worse, the rise of the digital economy affirms that the global economy will continue to become more interdependent and borderless than ever. But this hasn’t translated globally, as some nations lead as start-up friendly locales, whereas others hold a harder path.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE CARIBBEAN?

As a region, the Caribbean has a ton going for it when it comes to the capacity of local start-ups and established businesses to take on the world. It is just also true that a region with a relatively small population, still growing in a number of areas, and at a distance from major economic epicentres like North America, Europe, and Asia isn’t crying out for another ridge to summit.

As in other parts of the world, a difficult experience in starting and maintaining a business here greatly grows the risk of a brain drain, the phenomenon where some of a community’s best and most dynamic professionals depart for what they identify as bigger opportunities elsewhere.

Jamaica has been a noted example of this locally but the underlying challenges go well beyond the Land of Wood and Water. The Caribbean is on a cusp of a big new change economically. In decades prior, bananas may have been recognised as our greatest export. Today our strength in tourism and finance is heralded the world over.

Seeking out this next chapter does not presume to supplant or surpass the achievements we’ve made prior. Instead, it seeks to build on them. And this begins with an understanding of which problems are making it harder to move forward.

Internet speed is a factor, so too electricity costs. But given that tech capitals like San Francisco and London have also had comparatively slow internet speeds, it confirms that no quick fix will do it when identifying a problem, or potential.

They are also not universal, as while some nations have made solid inroads in eCommerce, others have done so in blockchain, and others still have pioneered tourism and financial tech.  The variety of these pursuits alone shows that there are indeed the tools in the region to build a greater dialogue surrounding ‘where to next?’ when it comes to industry growth beyond tourism and finance, presently our two biggest industries.

Growing this conversation is not only a guard against brain drain, it is a foundation for the future. When major cities like San Francisco, Toronto and Dublin are recognised the world over as global capitals for new business, then building a business locally in competition to these start-up epicentres can be harder.

WHERE ARE WE TODAY? AND WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE TOMORROW?

But it is possible for nations to quickly build new identities and open up new economies. So many nations in our region have the skills, resources, and readiness to do so in the digital era, but barriers remain. Many of the challenges have been identified, and it’s time to talk solutions.

Ultimately, certain challenges surrounding our region will endure for some time. So long as seas are harder to traverse than roads, and economies of scale advantage huge populations, as in Los Angeles and Mexico City, the people of the Caribbean will struggle to go head to head in some traditional industries. 

It’s just also true that the world is prime to reward the agile innovators: those entrepreneurs who start a business on their smartphone; those eCommerce start-ups that begin trading in a car garage, backroom offices – and even boatsheds! – across the region. And yes, those existing businesses that look to the opportunities of the digital economy not as something to fear but something to seize upon, renew in, and to take on the world within.

SO LET’S TALK

This is the beginning of a long story that we at The Star Businessweek aspire to write this year. One that goes in-depth, to profile and showcase the entrepreneurs and start-ups that are writing the next great chapter of Caribbean business;  the individuals and businesses that have experienced the problems; and identity the red tape, the outdated processes, and areas that must be addressed so that business can thrive.

Want to join in our conversation? Get in touch with us via starbusinessweek@stluciastar.com with the subject line ‘Talking Caribbean Business’.